Chapter 20-21 The City Eternal (II)

Chapter 20-21 The City Eternal (II)

I can't explain this. Hells, Ive never even seen anything like this.

This is worse than a disruption. Your thoughtsthey just disentangle when you get caught in a Thoughtwave Detonation. This though its like entire sequences have collapsed in on each other, artifacts and constructs blended like something between colliding rivers and combined debris.

All the Sovereignties? All of them?

Jaus.

Fuck.

Our emergency loci grids have been activated. Defenses are in place. I think the sequences are untangling themselves slowly. Ive gauged movement. Slow restoration. But only the gods know about how the FATELESS are doing?

The Golds and the rest of the Saintists are also disabled. I dont think it's them. We would have seen it coming.

Even the Homechain is reporting damages? The islands themselves? Thats impossible. Its a fortressVoidwatch? They confirmed it? Show me the satellite holos. I want to see.

Jaus.

Scramble emergency cells. Signal the Council. Call for the activation of the Mindfall Contingency. Somethings happening. Something were not seeing. Deploy all available Seekers. Stop quench the skirmishes before they begin. Activate all reserve forces. Yes, even the puppets. I know theyre not ready; do it anyway.

We might not be ready to go into a shooting war, but the last thing we need is for Highflame to get any ideas before we

-Final transmission of Mirror-Convave [REDACTED] (Cause of Death: Flayed by No-Dragon Heaven of Skin along with rest of compromised assets in the [REDACTED] Sovereignty)

20-21

The City Eternal (II)The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

You don't give a fuck The words left the Hungers with an incredulous rasp. The sight of the countless eyes of the city blinking in surprise between the scales of colossal dragons would have been comical if there wasnt a persistent ambiance of screams in the backdrop, and also if said eyes didnt resemble golden sores festering in a bed of wounds.

Still, undeniable satisfaction flowed through Avothrough many of his templates as well. There was something inherently cathartic about openly scorning your forbearer. Avo theorized it came with the breaking of the power dynamic between descendant and creator, the shattering of chains in the symbology that one was their own person, that one was beyond the power to be ruled.

He would have likely philosophized further, but a scoffed slur from Draus reminded him they still had an escape to plan.

Stunned disbelief gave way to outrage among the Famines, but while they were distracted, Avo positioned himself, his ego splitting occupying critical junctions in the Deep Nether. Places where he could observe each of the gathered nodes and serve as critical installations for a potential battle. He created as many sessions and hidden traumas as he could, extracting the ghosts and sequences directly from his ego before installing them within a hidden recess.

He had missed this. Missed being able to spoof and operate as a Necrojack. The Conflagration had made him destructive beyond measure in the Nether, but all he touched was certain to burn, and so nothing of the world beyond his mind and Heavens was his to sequence.

Not unless they were also Godclads.

A Famine of Joy whimpered, drawing Avos attention. +How can you speak such things?+

Draus directed choice words for this one too, despising him the most out of all the Low Masters for his fragility.

It occurred to Avo that this was effectively the first time the Regular ever got to interact with the Nolothic priesthood. All prior encounters were centered around the eradication of ghouls, purging the Famines forces street by street, block by block, district by district. Now, she finally got to see the face of her enemy, and lo, was she unimpressed.

+We fucking made you,+ a Famine of Peace snarled, the scabs around him breaking. +We created your corpse-eating like. Defiance just put shit that didnt belong inside you. You think you fucking matter because youre different? Do you really think youre fucking special? Youre just a thing. And when we pull you apart, youre going to be a thing we know how to make.+

The others of his like shifted in the Deep Nether, their nodes gathered and conjoined as layered sessions, building complex arrays bedecked by countless phantasmics. A corona of memories emanated from each of them, but Avo could sense their individual avatars without fail.

Distance worked strangely in this place of thought. One needed to move through connected paths to arrive at their desired destination.

A shame the Conflagration assimilated all that it touched. It would have been useful to have a more intact mindscape to move through.

+We make lots of things,+ Avo replied. +Many of them are useless. Some of them are regrettable. Others pointless. Like this conversation. Came here to face you. All of you. To see my gods for what they were.+ His derision pierced past the Famines and settled on the Hungers themselves. +Died for you. Killed for you. Existed for you. But now youre disgusted by me. Fear me. How things change.+

+Fear you? Fucking fear?+ The Nether around the Peace-formed nodes quavered as if they were collapsing inward. Ghosts fled while pockets of vacuum expanded. Thoughtwave disruption. The weapon of choice when dealing with him. +Youll see fear, you mongrel slave! Youll see. The traitors touch has addled your mind. It will be a genuine pleasure to still your flame and carve your construct open to see what went wrong on the inside. Maybe well keep you after that. Link you to your companions and run traumas through them. See which of you shatters first.+

[Oh, good,] Chambers sighed. [Hes that kind of asshole. The kind that tortures because hes always angry and doesnt have a hobby. My dad would havewell, my dad was a drunk piece of shit who didnt love anything but a bottle of Fulgermax, so they probably wouldnt have gotten along either.]

A shimmering field of pulsating rage rippled from each array supported by the Famines of Peace. Avo prepared himself for imminent danger, leaving only the barest amounts of his ego around his subself. The rest were spread out like an actual plague, unseen but growing, his ghosts shifting from one part of the Deep Nether to another.

Presently, his ego was separated into [66,313] splinters across various sequences. Portioning twenty-five splinters out of the collective, he designated those parts of himself as expendable in case of an attack. He would use them to simulate his Conflagration. Give the Low Masters something to focus their fire while he directed the rest of himself toward more conducive responses.

They would only be used if his current approach failed, which was centered around getting one of the Low Mastersor the Hungers itselfto interface with him.

[Bide your time,] Draus said, watching their foes. [Go too soon and we lose all advantage. They null you from ways beyond. We cant even touch em right now. Dont give em any reason to end you. Not yet.]

The Famines of Peace held to their posture, but the Hungers attention were firmly settled on Avo.Peace. Hold.

Ghosts stopped circulating through Peaces constructs. The vicinity around the Low Master grew thick with indignation and rage. But he obeyed. More than anything, he obeyed without question.

More than a few templates within Avo turned their gazes away. This act was something they knew well. Draus, especially, considering the nature of her departure.

I feel it too.

Theres another of us. One at least. A warmind. Its being triggered. Its coming closer. The Low Masters were stalling for time too. Theyre trying to capture us. Contain us. Probably going do something to the sequences around us.

You need to accelerate. End this presentation. Let the Famines of Joy reel you in. Dont be in the Deep Nether for whatever comes.

Instinct and scorn made Avo chuckle. He shook his head at the Hungers and hissed out a sigh. +So then what? Godsfall. Everything was ruined. But the gods were broken. The world was yours. Did you come up with designs to betray Jaus first? Or was that for down the line?+

Betray Jaus? The Hungers voices rose to a shriek. He betrayed us! He banished us! Look around you. Look at this ruined place! Do you see this? All that is memory and conception could have been made truly real. We could have rendered all the gods useless. Created a new paradise where all people could live a life as masters and nobles if they only envisioned it. That all miracles can be made manifest with but a thought. That was the world that was stopped. All for this. The Nether. A crippled shadow of what could have been rooted to my essence.

The dragons seemed to sag, laid low by the admission. There are more and more minds now. Increasingly many egos upon the shallows, the cognitive load we must filter greater and greater. Your kind was meant to be a solution. Additional support as auxiliary minds and containers for traumas. You were not it was a thing of necessity.

Still no apology. But there was an opportunity, something Avo had to ask before anything else. +The bodies in the George Washington. Theyre empty husks. Cant create thinking minds. You made them?+

A thing of our blood did, the Hungers said. A warmind. It birthed your nodes. It is birthing your nodes still. But you have taken the temple from us, and so many of your brothers are trapped in this limbo. Unable to be birthed

+Where?+ Avo asked.

This time, the Hungers didnt answer.

+We can show you,+ a Peace sneered. +In fact, youll see soon enough.+

[Yeah, alright, theyre doing something fucky,] Abrel said. [Avo. Get us out of here before we discover whatever horrible shit they have cooking.]

He obliged.

With a thought, he directed his subself to stand, lashing his false Conflagration at the recalled realm of ancient Noloth. Famines of Joy scattered and the supported mindscape collapsed. Folds of disturbed Nether built around the Famines of Peace, but they didnt fire. Not yet.

Melded to Joys ghosts, Avo felt his splinters recede into several thousand Joys as he planned his next steps. However, as his steam slithered into the Low Masters thoughtscape, merging with wards and sequences, he realized the structure within was constantly changing from form to form, memories and infrastructure mutating.

It demanded all of Avos focus to keep up with the rapid shits, and he couldnt help but feel that he was in the wrong place.

Oh. Oh, its already inside them. Theyre going to let it out.

Avo. You need to get to Peace now. Get away from Joy. Turn yourself into Ghostlinks and go. No time for stealth anymore.

Theyre trying to cage us.

You spit at us blindly, the Hungers raged, like a child trying to offend its parent.

+Let me null the fuck,+ A Famine of Peace followed.

+Masters,+ Emotion interjected, a slight frown occupying his face as he turned to Peace. +Theres something in his behavior+

Avo crawled along the labyrinths comprising the Famines of Joys inner world and positioned himself for a link. There was more than a little distance between the Famines of Joy and Peace, so he needed to give himself as much time as possible.

That was where his previous preparations came in handy. Distractions within distractions. Things to draw away attention.

+Would you like to hear something in earnest,+ Avo said, speaking to the Hungers. He didnt wait for the dragons to respond, and mentally readied his various sessions and installations to launch their constructs at the Low Masters. They would never hit. Not even close. But that wasnt the point. +Your paradise is pathetic. You fled material reality. Fled and abandoned so many. Talked about the chosen people. City eternal. But you hide. Even when you won. Kept choosing to hide. Why? Why?+

The others, they were not to be trusted

+Why did you kill him?+ Avo asked. He was looking at Emotion now. Directing this question specifically at him. +Why did Avohakten rebel?+



The Famines of Emotion said nothing, but their perception slipped ever-so-slightly off Avos subself.

The traitor thought he found faith, the Hungers snarled. Faith. He was going to join the upper and lower cities. He was going to show us to the gods! Betray all that we worked for.

+Still no mention of why.+ Avo just chuckled. Chambers was right. More than he could ever know. +It cant ever be your fault. Can it? Never your mistake. Always the world against you. Always someone else betraying you. Lets not talk about my namesake. Lets not talk about Walton. Lets not even talk about the people you fused into voidships core. Your priests. Look at them. Havent they given enough? Theyre just facets now. Barely any person left in them. Look at where you are. Look.+

And the Hungers did. And Peace cursed. And Joy wept. And Emotion frowned.

+All this? This is what you deserve,+ Avo said. +Its what you earned. Paradise belongs to those with the will to claim it. That ones that will not be ruled inside and out. And that cant be you. Because you are afraid. You are afraid of dying. You are afraid that you cannot control everything. You are jealous. Because youre not a true god.+

...Enough of this. Peace. Be done with him. I will speak with his restoration once we have extracted his flame. The eyes turned to him once more. A pity. I wanted them to help you with your ascent against the Guilds. But hopes become ash ever so often.

+Yes,+ Avo agreed, not even bothering to hide the feral grin spreading across his face. +Ash. Always.+

And then and multiple memories across the Nether shifted in shape as Avos Delusion-infused constructs rose, Thoughtwave disruptions fell, and tendrils of ghosts held within whistling steam whipped out toward the Famines of Peace.

Ghosts: [101,301]